Today's Liberal News

Former Gov. LePage says he’s ‘against mandates in all respects,’ except maybe for poor people

Mandates are anti-freedom. Vaccine mandates for military members are anti-freedom. Mask requirements are anti-freedom. All kinds of public health measures are anti-freedom, according to the Republican Party. Unless, of course, we are talking about people in need of some government assistance. No, not tax-exempt religious assistance. No, not corporate welfare assistance: We’re talking about the millions of citizens and families not making ends meet in our country.

This Week in Statehouse Action: What Pandemic? edition

Different week, same old GOP statehouse garbage.

Seriously, the sense of deja vu with these cats is real.

Especially because they seem oblivious to the fact that WE’RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF A FREAKING PANDEMIC

But Republican lawmakers are objecting to the most basic of public safety measures, like masks, with a vehemence one might more suitably reserve for, say, drinking spoiled milk.

For Women, Is Exercise Power?

Of all the cult workout products that have dominated the American imagination over the past few decades, the one I least expected to be rooted in feminist protest was the ThighMaster. Consider this TV spot from 1991: “Great legs,” a male voice opines as a pair of disembodied, high-heeled gams stroll onto the screen.

John Nichols on How “Coronavirus Criminals & Pandemic Profiteers” Hurt World’s Response to COVID-19

We speak with The Nation’s national affairs correspondent John Nichols on the occasion of his new book, “Coronavirus Criminals and Pandemic Profiteers: Accountability for Those Who Caused the Crisis,” which takes aim at the CEOs and political figures who put profits over people during the coronavirus pandemic. The chapters cover notorious figures such as former President Trump, Mike Pompeo, Jared Kushner and Jeff Bezos.

Confessions of a “Human Guinea Pig”: Professor Quits Vaccine Trial over Moderna’s Corporate Greed

Jeremy Menchik, a self-described “human guinea pig” who volunteered for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine trials, dropped out to protest the company’s greed in reaping profits from the ongoing pandemic while doing little to resolve global vaccine inequity. Menchik is launching a new website — mrna4all.org — where other vaccine trial participants can join the effort to pressure vaccine makers to scale up production to vaccinate the world.

China Is Watching Ukraine With a Lot of Interest

As Joe Biden confronts Vladimir Putin about Russia’s military buildup along its border with Ukraine, another world leader is probably watching with keen interest. China’s Xi Jinping, too, has a geopolitical grievance in his neighborhood—in his case over Taiwan, the microchip-rich island that Beijing insists is and always should be part of China.

“The Coming Coup”: Ari Berman on Republican Efforts to Steal Future Elections

Mother Jones reporter Ari Berman warns the Republican Party is laying the groundwork to steal the 2022 midterms and future elections through a combination of gerrymandering, voter suppression and election subversion, that together pose a mortal threat to voting rights in the United States. Republicans, many of whom are election deniers, are campaigning for positions that hold immense oversight over the election process.

The Real Reason Americans Aren’t Isolating

The life of a hotel front-desk clerk in a red state can tell you a lot about America’s COVID-19 failures. He doesn’t want to be identified, because he is worried about being fired, but I can tell you this: He doesn’t have paid sick days or health insurance. About a month ago, he got COVID and took four days off, using three of his seven vacation days and going a day without pay. Last week, one of his kids tested positive for COVID, and he thinks he has it again.

How to Succeed at Failure

“How to Build a Life” is a weekly column by Arthur Brooks, tackling questions of meaning and happiness. Click here to listen to his podcast series on all things happiness, How to Build a Happy Life.You wanted it and you worked for it, but all your effort was for naught.Maybe your relationship collapsed, your company went under, or you got fired.

Boris Johnson’s Watergate

In Boris Johnson’s office at 10 Downing Street, a vista of London hangs above the fireplace. The work was painted by his mother, Charlotte Wahl, who died four months ago at the age of 79, having lived long enough to see her son become prime minister and then win an election by such a margin that it seemed to have ushered in a new era in British politics: the Johnson era.

The Duo Fighting to Preserve Dynastic Rule in the Philippines

The wedding ceremony held in November on a verdant farm in the Philippines was for the daughter of a senator. Most of the guests’ attention, though, was paid not to the bride and the groom but to another duo in attendance.Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the country’s late dictator, escorted Sara Duterte-Carpio, the daughter of the current president, Rodrigo Duterte, past guests sitting in white trellis-backed chairs.

News Roundup: Senate voting rights fight gears up; Trump team gets another round of subpoenas

In the news today: The battle to protect voting rights is coming to a head in the Senate, where Democrats appear to be going forward with a plan to put filibuster proponents on record with their claims that a Senate rule that is, in current form, younger than the movie Jaws is more important than protecting Americans from new rules designed to keep voters from ballot boxes. Yet more subpoenas for those around Trump.

Bad doctors, big problems, Part II: A path forward

Editor’s note: This is Part II of a two-part story. Read Part I, which was originally published on January 10, here.

In 2004, Florida voters passed a three-strikes medical malpractice law. The law as passed would have revoked the medical license of any practitioner hit with three judgments of malpractice by a court in a lawsuit, or those who received an adverse finding by a medical board or an arbitrator.

GOP congressman who relocated from Tennessee to run in Indiana retires after three terms

Republican Rep. Trey Hollingsworth announced Thursday that he would not seek a fourth term in Indiana’s safely red 9th District in a very unexpected move that bookends what has been a short but surprising congressional career. The revised version of this southeastern Indiana seat, which includes Bloomington, backed Donald Trump 63-35, and Republicans should have no trouble holding onto it.